Microsoft Delivers Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8

The new Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 enables developers to build applications for Windows 8 that can take advantage of the cloud compute and storage capabilities of Windows Azure.

ANAHEIM,
Calif.-Microsoft has released a new toolkit
for developers to take advantage of the cloud capabilities of Windows Azure
from Windows 8 Metro style applications.
The
Windows Azure
Toolkit for Windows 8 is designed to make it easier for developers to
create a Windows Metro style application that can harness the power of Windows
Azure Compute and Storage, said Windows Azure technical evangelist Nick Harris
in a Sept.
14 blog post.

At
the Microsoft BUILD conference here,
Microsoft Server and Tools President, Satya Nadella, announced the new toolkit
that gives developers guidance as well as templates and tools for tapping into
Azure from Metro apps.

The Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 includes a
Windows 8 Cloud Application project template for Visual Studio that makes it
easier for developers to create a Windows Metro style application that utilizes
services in Windows Azure, Harris said.
"This template generates a Windows Azure project, an ASP.NET
MVC 3 project, and a Windows Metro style JavaScript application project,"
Harris said. "Immediately out-of-the-box the client and cloud projects
integrate to enable push notifications with the Windows Push Notification
Service (WNS). In addition, the Windows Azure project demonstrates how to use
the WNS recipe and how to leverage Windows Azure Blob and Table storage."
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced the Windows Azure Toolkits for Devices, consisting of tools for
Windows Phone, iOS,
and Android. Using the toolkits, developers can use the cloud
to accelerate the creation of applications on the major mobile platforms. Now
Microsoft has extended many of those back-end capabilities so developers can
take advantage of a scalable cloud platform to power Metro style applications
on Windows 8.

Specifically, the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8
includes:

Guidance in the forms of code
samples, documentation and best practices

Tooling support with Visual
Studio project templates

Code in the shape of reusable
services and libraries

The toolkit supports JavaScript and HTML5, as well as .NET,
C#, C++ and Visual Basic, so developers can use their preferred languages to
take advantage of sign-on identities and notifications on Windows 8.
In addition, the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 contains a rich set of
assets including a Dependency Checker, Windows Push Notification Service
recipe, Dev 11 project templates, VS 2010 project templates and Sample
Applications, Harris said.
At BUILD, Microsoft technical fellow John Shewchuk demonstrated a Metro style
travel application that leveraged Windows Azure compute and storage
capabilities. Vittorio
Bertocci, a Microsoft engineer who built the demo app, said, "The
application is a very simple travel management utility, with the typical look
of the Metro Style app." Bertocci also noted that his team has been working
with the appropriate Windows engineering team "to make sure we connect to ACS
from Metro style applications by making proper use of the new Windows security
features."
Wade
Wegner, a Microsoft engineer who helped Bertocci with the demo app, said
the application, known as Margie's Travel, is a sample travel application that
demonstrates how you can track and manage your trips across multiple Windows 8
machines using a combination of technologies in Windows Azure and Windows 8.
"The application is a Metro styled app built on HTML5, CSS,
and JavaScript. Additionally, this application was rapidly built by using the
templates and samples found in the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8," Wegner said.
Moreover, the Windows
Azure Team blog said:
"In today's multi-device world, the cloud becomes a strategic hub for
applications, experiences, and data. These toolkits leverage the cloud to
simplify the complexity of supporting multiple devices while exploiting each
device. Developers can use Windows Azure to support common requirements
like device notifications, authentication, storage, and even higher-level
services like leader boards for gaming. At the same time, the toolkit helps
developers take full advantage of each device by writing client code for each
platform."
In short, "The Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 provides developers a
rich set of re-useable assets that demonstrate how to start using Windows Azure
quickly from Metro style applications in Windows 8," Harris said.

Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.